


The Custody Contract

by pikablob



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Parent Snatcher, Probably ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21659101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikablob/pseuds/pikablob
Summary: He never expected to care about her, but after finding out how alone Hat Kid really is Snatcher can't help stepping in.
Relationships: Hat Kid & Snatcher
Comments: 13
Kudos: 319





	The Custody Contract

Snatcher wasn’t entirely sure when the little brat had managed to worm her way into his heart. At first he had seen Hat Kid as just another soul to claim, another pawn in his schemes and another name for his contracts. But over time he found something about that much boundless energy being squished into such a small frame both admirable and adorable.

He would never admit that to her, of course; the closest he had come was quietly adding his own encouragement to the chorus when she’d come running away from her first confrontation with Mustache Girl in floods of tears. Something had broken inside him, seeing his kid hurt like that, and he wasn’t quite sure he had been the same since.

So here he was, curled comfortably in the corner aboard Hat Kid’s bizarre spaceship, idly flicking through what had to be the worst book he had ever read while he waited for her to get back from his latest contract. He had told her he was only giving her these in the hopes she’d die, and they certainly weren’t easy on her, but the truth was if he wanted her to fail that badly he would force it. Secretly he enjoyed the way she beamed triumphantly whenever he ‘reluctantly’ handed over a reward.

But he knew this little arrangement they had couldn’t last forever. He was running low on contract ideas, and he knew well enough that the rest of the planet had developed a similar shortage of errands to be run since she’d been around. He was starting to wonder why she was even still here; she had seemed so determined to get home before, but with all her time pieces collected and the world back to normal she was still hanging about.

The thought of her leaving made his empty insides feel even emptier. He looked down at his list of remaining contracts, resting on top of the pages of the atrocious book. She had five left to do, out of well over a hundred he’d come up with.

The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed through the bedroom. Make that four, he thought dryly, looking down to see a familiar purple-clad form walking in. But as he did he noticed she didn’t seem nearly as excited as usual, waddling quietly up the ramp to where he sat with her gaze down at her feet. The lack of her typical cheery disposition sent a spike of worry through him, but he didn’t let it show.

Her purple coat and hat were covered in pollen from her endeavour, and as she walked she swayed back and forth. It took him a moment to realise but once he did it seemed obvious; she was exhausted.

“Well kiddo,” he greeted, easily slipping back into the facade, “I see you aren’t dead yet.” She shook her head defiantly.

“Finished ‘nother,” she muttered with as much pride as she could muster in her state, barely suppressing a yawn.

“Of course you did,” he feigned irritation, reaching one long arm behind his back for the latest reward. “Here, take it.” He pulled out a bucket of sparkling dark blue paint and deposited it at her feet. She looked up at him, smiling weakly, and for the first time he could see the bags under her eyes. When had she gotten this tired? Had she been getting more and more exhausted without him noticing?

“Thanks,” she said quietly.

“Yes, yes,” he rolled his eyes, burying the thoughts. “Now get some rest! It’ll be no fun watching you die of tiredness, and I’ve still got four chances to kill you lined up.”

“Four?” She seemed to jolt in place, the gears in her head turning. She reached inside her coat, fumbling for a moment before pulling out the crumpled map he had given her. He watched her face fall as she looked over it, realising that he was in deed telling the truth.

“What’s the problem, kiddo?” he asked, trying and failing to sound more mocking than concerned.

“What happens after?” she asked, looking down.

“After?” he blinked in surprise. “Well, on the slim chance you survive you get to pack it up and go home. You’re done.”

“But-”

“No buts, kiddo,” he cut her off, “Either you drop dead or we wrap this up. I’m not just going to keep churning out contracts for you.” She pouted. He kept up his forced smile. “We can’t always get what we want, can we? Besides, isn’t going home what you’ve been trying to do this whole time?”

That caught her off guard. She squirmed uncomfortably, taking an unsteady step back.

“I- I just-” she stammered out, before slumping forwards, too tired to think of an excuse. “I don’t wanna go.” Her voice cracked, and he felt that strange sensation in his chest again.

“Why not, kid?” he asked, finally giving up the charade. “You seemed awfully desperate to get those time pieces back.”

“They’re dangerous,” she admitted quietly. That he couldn’t dispute; he’d seen what Mustache Girl had become with them.

“Isn’t there anyone waiting for you?” he asked. She looked up, and he could see the beginnings of tears glistening in her eyes. The weight of everything she was holding back seemed to be crashing down at once.

“No,” she sniffed. “There’s no one. I tried to make them care; I was gonna show them with this mission, but then it all went wrong and I got stuck here and now everyone’s gonna go on thinking I’m a screw-up and I’m gonna be all alone all over again!”

“Some screw-up you are,” he chided, gently scooping her exhausted frame up in one inky hand, “You saved the planet kid.” He brought her in close, not quite a hug but close enough.

She reached out and caught fistfuls of shadow, pulling herself into his chest. The dam was broken, and he felt the uncomfortable damp as sobs wracked her tiny frame.

“‘m sorry,” she managed to choke out, muffled by his side.

“Yeah yeah,” he soothed, gently rubbing her back with one long finger. “You know, kid, you don’t need an excuse to stick around.” She murmured in surprise. “Who cares where you’re from; there’s no reason you can’t stay here forever. I’ll bet you your soul that if you actually tried to leave everyone on the planet would try and stop you.”

“Mm hmm?” she mumbled hopefully.

“Of course!” he grinned. In return she gave a sharp exhale of breath, one that might just have been the start of a chuckle.

They stayed like that for a moment in comfortable silence, with only the distant sounds of the ship for company. It felt strange to Snatcher, in a good way, like everything was somehow right. He felt another strange feeling inside, but this one was warm and welcoming. Finally he looked down.

“Better now, kiddo?”

There was no response. He could feel her grip on him had loosened, and gently he lifted her away from him and into view, still cradling her in one hand. She was asleep, her expression peaceful and her chest rising and falling with the slow rhythm of her breathing.

With his other hand he gently wiped the tear tracks from her face, before gently setting her down atop the massive pile of pillows. She stirred slightly and turned when he removed his hand, brow furrowing and tiny fingers briefly grasping at the air before falling back to her sides, but she didn’t wake up.

Looking over her tiny form he felt the warmth and protectiveness only grow inside him. He looked back at the book, now abandoned on the ramp, and at the paper atop it. He felt a stab of guilt that he had ever wanted to kill her, but quickly suppressed it as an idea entered his mind. He cast his gaze back over her sleeping form as he picked up the book and set off; he had to pay a visit to Subcon.

* * *

When she finally awoke Hat Kid felt like she had been asleep forever. She yawned and stretched, feeling her back pop after a night of sleeping at a slightly awkward angle. A quick glance around the bedroom revealed Snatcher was no longer in his corner; no doubt he had to go back to Subcon, she thought.

Without any daylight in space it was hard to say how long she’d been out for, only that it had been a long time. She had really done a number on herself with those last few contracts, but already she was feeling better. Maybe not better enough to try more just yet, but she was in no rush anyway. So she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got up slowly.

She walked slowly to the door, only to stop when she noticed something lying in her path. It was a bundle of dark fabric, topped with a scrap of yellowing paper, and as she bent down to pick it up the familiar handwriting of Snatcher was clearly visible on it.

“ _I was saving this for your last contract_ ,” it read, “ _But I suppose you’ve earned it_.”

She could imagine him putting on his irritated voice for that, and smiled at the thought. Carefully she picked up the bundle; it unfolded in her hands, revealing the familiar shape of a coat. It wasn’t the first one he had given her in the course of these contracts, but there was something different about this one.

The cape that hung behind it was purposefully tattered, ending in ragged edges. The coat itself was a purple-black colour, and it seemed to shimmer and glow in her hands. She realised suddenly that it had the same texture as Snatcher himself; he had somehow made this out of the same shadow-stuff that formed his own undead body.

She quickly unzipped her current coat and dumped it in a heap before pulling this new one on, feeling a warmth inside at the knowledge of how much he cared. It was strangely comforting to wear, and incredibly soft, and just the right size. The only downside she could see was that her hat now didn’t match, but she was sure she could convince him to make one at some point.

She set off again with a spring in her step, pocketing the note. She quickly rounded the corner into the main room, her mind wandering to the previous evening.

“Ahahahahahahahaha!”

She jumped, looking up to see Snatcher floating in the middle of the room. He was wearing his trademark smile, though she could read him well enough to see he was putting it on.

“I see you’ve found my gift,” he announced, leaning down to get a better look at her. “You like it, right kiddo?”

“Uh huh,” she smiled nodded; he seemed to relax slightly, though the grin was still forced.

“Good,” he said firmly, “I put far too much effort into that thing. Anyway; I’ve been thinking since you told me all of that yesterday.”

“Yeah?” she asked, feeling a small spike of uncertainty.

“If you’re gonna be sticking around, kid, then I thought you should have a new contract,” he explained, unrolling a new piece of yellowed paper from wherever he kept such things. She eyed him warily; why would she need a new contract? She was pretty sure after everything he had seen of her and let her see of him that he wasn’t trying to get her killed anymore.

But as soon as she read the paper, everything started to fall into place. It was still titled ‘ _CONTRACT_ ’ with the same familiar mini-Snatcher reaching around it, but in the bar underneath he had added ‘ _(Of Adoption)_ ’. There was only one term; ‘ _I’ll become your legal guardian'_ , and in the bit at the bottom he’d written ‘ _I’ll give you this… and expect the same in return._ ’; in the gap in that sentence ‘ _LOVE AND AFFECTION_ ’ was prominently stamped.

“I just thought since you said there was nobody waiting for you back home,” he said quickly, trying to fill the silence.

He wanted them to be family, and the thought made happiness well up inside her. Someone cared about her enough to want to adopt _her_. She felt the sting of happy tears, and her mouth broke into a grin before she could even think about it. She just wanted scream ‘yes!’ there and then.

“So, what do you say?” he asked. He was trying to sound impatient, but she could hear the worry in his voice.

She reached under her new coat and found the marker she always carried in a trouser pocket. Before he could say anything more she grabbed the edge of the paper in one hand and scribbled her name down in bright purple with the other. The letters were even more slapdash than usual but she didn’t care; all that mattered was her name was on the paper and that made it official.

His grin broke, replaced by a slightly smaller but far more genuine smile. Carefully he pulled the contact away, holding it up to look as if he couldn’t quite believe she’d agreed. She responded by leaping at him, throwing her hands around his midsection with enough force to nearly knock him back. She was crying now, freely, but they were tears of joy and a happy laugh bubbled up from inside her.

She heard the rustling of paper being rolled up and then felt the gentle touch of his arms around her as he tried to return the hug. Gently he lifted off the ground, carrying her up towards the ceiling.

“Welcome home, kiddo,” he said quietly. She mumbled a response, too quiet for him to make out. “What was that?”

“Love you,” she said quietly. He felt the cold space where his heart had once been grow warm.

“You too, kid,” he answered, “You too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I know the Shadow Puppet is meant to change your appearance completely, but I thought this was cuter :))


End file.
